This invention relates in general to the sport of fishing and, more particularly, to a container for holding fishing lures, hooks, and the like in a manner that they may be easily retrieved.
In fly fishing, a fly, which is essentially a hook disguised with materials designed to attract fish, is attached to a thin and relatively transparent leader, which is in turn attached to a relatively heavy line that extends from a fly rod. The rod activates the line and propels it as well as the leader and fly outwardly. They fall to the water with the fly extended.
In "dry" fly fishing the line and fly float, the floating of the latter being primarily through the effects of surface tension. The fly resembles a free-floating insect and attracts fish. However, the fly absorbs moisture, and as it does the surface tension is diminished. Thus, the fisherman who participates in dry fly fishing must change flies from time to time.
In "wet" fly fishing the leader and fly sink below the surface of the water where the fly resembles an insect, or an insect in the larva stage, or a minnow or crayfish. Again the fly attracts fish, but being below the surface it is more likely to snag on under water objects. Thus, it is necessary to have additional flies in wet fly fishing as well.
Irrespective of whether the fisherman chooses the dry or wet variation, he will on occasions lose flies or may find that fish are attracted to one type of fly but not another. This requires a supply of extra flies.
Boxes having compartments for individual flies are presently available, but these boxes are not easily opened or manipulated. Indeed, these fly boxes fully occupy two hands. In this regard, one fly box commonly used is circular in configuration and has pie-shaped compartments arranged about the axis of the box. These compartments are normally closed by a circular cover which rotates about its center axis and has an opening which exposes one compartment at a time as the cover is turned. The flies may be sorted by compartment, but not within individual compartments where they tend to become entangled with one another and are difficult to separate. Another common fly box has a hinged cover which when opened exposes compartments or strips of fly holding material.
Since a fly rod must often be held while a fly is changed, manipulating the cover of such a box is not easily done, and retrieving a fly, particularly when it is in a small compartment, requires even more agility. The difficulty is particularly pronounced when fishing from within the water itself, such as in a stream or lake, which is where fly fishing usually takes place.
Because of the difficulty in retrieving flies, many fly fishermen remove flies in advance from their fly boxes and hook them in their hats or pads attached to their vests or pockets. These flies cannot be easily observed or removed. The chance of losing one's hat and all the flies on it, is also ever present.
To a lesser extent, fly fishermen require new leaders from time to time, because of breakage or knots. This requires a supply of leaders. Many fishermen carry extra leaders in their pockets or in envelopes where the leaders become entangled with one another and with other objects and are quite difficult to sort and retrieve.